Most organisations don't realise they're losing control of their PPE programme until the symptoms become impossible to ignore.
Symptoms can include costs creeping up across all the different PPE categories like clothing, hand protection, etc. Or maybe noticing that all your sites are doing things slightly differently to each other when it comes to how and when they buy PPE.
But these issues rarely start with a single big decision that someone has made. They develop gradually through small decisions that make sense at the time. No-one means for it to happen, it is a natural consequence of business growth creating organisational complexity.
But how do you know when that point has been reached and it’s time to hit the reset button?
An increase in PPE budget isn’t a bad thing in itself. After all, if you are growing as a business and taking on new projects, then your budget will reflect your workforce. But keep an eye on those numbers, because it could be growing for more than that one reason.
You won’t truly know what's driving the increase unless you examine the causes closely, otherwise you will always be working on assumptions that can cause long term issues. We work with organisations to increase their PPE visibility and assess the true story behind the numbers. We do this using a unique methodology that measures, understands, controls, and then improves their PPE programme. This often results in a reduction in cost per order and overall deliveries, and ESG improvements.
Variation of PPE buying is expected and normal in large operational businesses. But the challenge starts when that variation becomes hard to track, which is not just a cost issue but a health and safety one as well.
If one site uses products that others don't, it could be a symptom of a bigger issue. Approval processes might vary as well, or the reporting of PPE usage is inconsistent, which can both lead to complexity that’s hard to manage. Many organisations don't realise how much variation exists until they look closely at the data. What they thought was a standardised programme is actually a collection of different approaches operating side by side.
One of the best ways I can quickly assess the status of a PPE programme is to start asking a few straightforward questions to key roles across the business:
The answers should be relatively clear, but if you find that procurement has one view, health & safety has another, and site management has a third, then it's often a sign that different parts of the organisation are working from different information.
That’s a key point to start taking matters seriously, because key decisions about PPE spend, product selection, safety, and compliance are being made every day. And if everyone is looking at it differently, it can become a wider issue of inconsistency.
The organisations that manage PPE the best are not always the ones with the strictest policies. It is the ones that have the clearest understanding of what's happening across their operation. They are in a position to explain spending patterns, understand where standards are not being met, and can spot issues more quickly.
These organisations can identify opportunities to improve before problems begin. We find working with customers closely using our CtrlCloud portal gives them a clearer understanding of how their PPE is performing and where attention is needed.
The three signs I've described are not unusual and occur naturally. But to do something about it requires working with a strategic partner like Tower to hit the reset button and completely reassess where and how you can improve your PPE programme.
Bruce works at the forefront of global requirements and is a leading authority on arc flash PPE. Bruce is also highly knowledgeable about the requirements of the Energy and Utilities industry.
